Fruit Varieties 



187 



cared for; that they do not take up so much room; 

 that they are less exposed to high winds, and such 

 fruit as does fall is not injured; that the low limbs 

 shelter the roots and conserve moisture ; and, above 

 all, that picking can be accomplished much more 

 easily and with less injury to fine, well ripened 

 fruit. The low-headed tree has com.e to stay. 



If your space will allow, the low-headed stand- 

 ards will give you better satisfaction than the 

 dwarfs. They are longer-lived, they are healthier, 

 and they do not require nearly so much intensive 

 culture. On the other hand, the dwarfs may be 

 used where there is little or no room for the stand- 

 ards. If there is no other space available, they 

 may be put in the vegetable or flower garden, and 

 incidentally they are then sure of receiving some 

 of that special care which they need in the way of 

 fertilization and cultivation. 



As I have said, any average soil will grow good 

 fruit. A gravelly loam, with a gravel subsoil, is the 

 ideal. Do not think from this, however, that all 

 you have to do is buy a few trees from a nursery 

 agent, stick them in the ground and from your neg- 

 ligence reap the rew^ards that follow only intelligent 

 industry. The soil is but the raw material which 

 work and care alone can transform, through the 

 medium of the growing tree, into the desired result 

 of a cellar well stored each autumn with fruit. 



